1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, a display apparatus with a touch panel, an image processing method and a program for allowing a computer to execute the image processing method.
2) Description of the Related Art
In an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer, there has been conventionally provided a processing function that a rectangular region, for example, is designated on a screen, on which an image, a character or the like is displayed, and then, an image inside of the designated region (i.e., inside of the surrounded region) or the like is cut or copied. A point of an upper left corner in a region to be designated is designated by depressing a button by the use of, for example, a mouse, and then, a point of a lower right corner is designated by dragging the mouse in the depressed state, thereby designating the rectangular region.
The region which can be designated may be not only a rectangular region but also a closed region having a free shape formed by a freehand line (a free curve) drawn freehand. For example, a controller in a personal computer body gains momentarily variable coordinates, which are input into the personal computer body through a mouse when the mouse is moved while depressing the button of the mouse, and thus, a freehand line is drawn on a screen based on the coordinates.
In the prior art, not only the mouse but also a touch panel or the like, which is provided as a display apparatus with coordinate an input unit, can be used as a coordinate input device for designating the region on a screen.
For example, a plasma hand writing system available from Pioneer Corp. is one of electronic whiteboard systems which use a display apparatus with coordinate an input unit. This system includes an interface which emulates a mouse interface for the Windows as an operating system widely used in a personal computer, and therefore, enables direct handwriting on a screen by a finger or with a special electronic pen, and further, enables a basic operation of a general-purpose application provided based on the Windows in the personal computer to be performed without any mouse. That is to say, like in the personal computer using the mouse, a freehand line can be drawn on a screen by a finger, and thus, the inside surrounded by the line can be designated as a region to be processed.
There have been known coordinate inputting/detecting devices for the display device with a coordinate inputting function explained below.
In a first example, wires are disposed in a grid manner in an X-Y direction on a coordinate inputting plane, and the coordinates of a position to which a special pen approaches are detected by varying a current flowing in the wires by the use of the special pen for generating a magnetic field.
In a second example, a coordinate inputting plane is formed of a resistant film made of a conductive rubber. When a desired position is designated by bringing a pen into contact with the coordinate inputting plane, a resistance at the position on the coordinate inputting plane is varied according to pressure. Consequently, the coordinates at the position can be detected by detecting the resistance.
In a third example, light beams are emitted from two light emitters through a rotary polygonal mirror, to scan a coordinate inputting plane, and then, a pen inserting position is detected by detecting light beams reflected on a reflecting member attached to the tip of a pen by two light receivers (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 57-211637). The two light receivers receive the light beams, and then, calculate the coordinates of the designated position by utilizing the principle of triangulation. Here, the coordinate inputting plane in the coordinate inputting/detecting device is not a physical plane such as the coordinate inputting plane in the coordinate inputting/detecting devices in the first and second examples, but a plane defined by the light beams emitted from the light beam emitters.
In addition to the Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 57-211637, the prior art disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-91094 also is an optical coordinate inputting/detecting device, like the third example. In this prior art, light emitters/receivers are disposed at, for example, lower right and left corners on a coordinate inputting plane, and then, light beams are emitted from the light emitters/receivers, respectively, while varying an emitting direction (i.e., an emitting angle), to scan the coordinate inputting plane. Thereafter, the light beams are refracted (that is, reflected in a return direction) by corner cube arrays (i.e., optical reflexive reflecting unit) disposed on upper, right and left sides of a panel, and then, the light beams returned by the light emitters/receivers, respectively, are detected. As a consequence, the scanning angle of each of the light beams cut off by a finger or the like, by the right and left light emitters/receivers can be detected, and thus, the coordinates of a designated position can be calculated by utilizing the principle of the triangulation.
The prior art disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-110116 also is one of the optical coordinate inputting/detecting devices explained as the third example. In this prior art, light emitters/receivers are disposed at, for example, upper right and left corners on a coordinate input-plane, and then, light beams are emitted from the light emitters/receivers, respectively, while varying emitting directions (i.e., emitting angles), to scan the coordinate inputting plane. Thereafter, the light beams are refracted (that is, reflected in return directions) by an optical reflexive reflecting unit disposed on lower, right and left sides of a panel, and then, the light beams returned by the respective light emitters/receivers are detected. As a consequence, a light beam cutting-off range of the scanning angle of each of the light beams cut off by a finger or the like, by the right and left light emitters/receivers can be detected, and thus, the coordinates of a designated position can be calculated.
The prior art disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-284895 also is one of the optical coordinate inputting/detecting devices explained as the third example. When the coordinates of a designated position are detected by an infrared beam in the same manner, the position can be stably detected even if a display plate is distorted or a coordinate inputting pen is inclined.
However, in the prior art, only the inside region surrounded by the freehand line on the screen can be designated as a region to be processed. Furthermore, if a part of an image intended to be included in the region to be processed is displayed outside of the region to be processed, the region displayed outside is excluded from the region to be processed, thereby arising a problem that the region displayed outside remains not processed.